Press Events

Press Events

Press Conference: Haruki Wada, Emeritus Professor at Tokyo University

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Monday, October 16, 2017, 15:30 - 16:30

Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation

While reciprocal insults and threats between the USA and DPRK seem to have given way to serious, albeit still very secretive, negotiations, there is still need to understand what is going on in the Korean Peninsula, and what are the reasons which brought world to the present crisis.

Wada Haruki is emeritus professor of Tokyo University and a well-known specialist in modern Russian and Korean history and politics. He is the author of the monumental Complete History of the Korean War (Chosen senso zenshi), the product of decades of archival and interview research in Chinese, Korean, Russian, Japanese and English sources.

During the military government period in South Korea, Wada was central to the movement for solidarity with the South Korean opposition, and played a major role in the campaign to save the life of political prisoners including Kim Dae Jung, who was kidnapped in Japan by South Korean secret agents, with the complicity of the Japanese Government. Many years later Kim became President of South Korea and launched the so called "Sunshine policy" which led to the historic North South summit in June 2000, in Pyongyang.

Wada has visited DPRK many times, the last time in 2014. His most recent books are "Do we want a Korean crisis? Reflections on the spy ships, the abductions affair, and the emergency legislation" (2002) and "Critique of our times: Japan North Korea Relations and the Abduction Problem" (Dojidai hihan-Nicho kankei to rachi mondai (2005)

Please reserve in advance, 3211-3161 or on the website (still & TV cameras inclusive). Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation.